Cable railway



(No Model.) 2Sheets-Sheet I.

G.. W. BOWMAN. CABLE RAILWAY.

Patented Jan. 27, 1891 WITNESSES //v VENTOR A TTORNE Y8.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sl1eet 2.

G. W. BOWMAN. CABLE RAILWAY.

No. 445,157. Patented Jan.27,1891.

WITNESSES. lNl/ENTOR:

| l v 1 1 v 1 1 Mam? ATTORNEYS NlTEll STATES GEORGE lVIRT BO\VMAN, OF DENVER, COLORADO.

CABLE RAILWAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 445,157, dated January 27, 1891.

Application filed December 12, 1889. Serial No. 333,424. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE WIRT Bow- MAN, of Denver, in the county of Arapahoe and State of Colorado, have invented a new and Improved Cable Railway, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The invention relates to cable railways in which the cable is stationary and the vehicle is propelled on the cable.

Theobjectoftheinventionistoprovide anew and improved cable railway which is simple and durable in construction, very effectivein operation, requiring little power to propel the vehicles, and designed to propel cars on railway-tracks or boats on water routes, (to.

The invention consists of certain parts and details and combinations of the same, as will be hereinafter fully described, and then pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of theimprovement with parts in section. Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the same on the line 90 a: of Fig. 1. Fig. 3is a sectional side elevation of a modified form of the improvement. Fig. a is a sectional side elevation of the drivinggear, of a modified form, for the same; and Fig. 5 is an enlarged transverse section of the cable-channel, the cable, and the pilot-wheel.

The vehicle A to be propelled may bea car mounted on wheels traveling on the usual tracks, or it may be a boat adapted to float on water. As shown in the drawings, the vehicle A is a car mounted to travel on rails and carrying a motor B of anyapproved construction and connected with the main driving-shaft O, mounted to turn in suitable bearings on the under side of the platform of the car A, as shown in Fig. 2. On the drivingshaft O is secured,in the middle of the car, a drum D, around which is wound once a cable E, having its ends extending in opposite directions and secured at the terminal stations of the route on which the device is employed. The cable E is placed in a channel F, preferably formed by two light T-rails G and G,

secured alongside each other on a suitable rubber, paper, or other suitable material, and

serve to increase the frictional contact between that part of the cable E passing over' the drum and the said projections, so as to prevent slipping of the cable when the drum is rotated.

On one of the flanges D of the drum D is arranged a brake mechanism 1, comprising the two brake-arms I and I segmental in shape, so as to engage the periphery of part of the flange D The lower ends of the brake-arms I and I are pivotally connected with each other by a link 1 and the upper parallel ends of the brake-arms I and I are pivotally connected by the links J and J, respectively, with a disk K, mounted to turn in suitable bearings held on the top of the platform of the car A and located between the parallel ends of the brake-arms I and 1 (See Fig. 1.)

A handle L extends from the disk K and serves to turn the disk in either direction, so as to move the brake-arms I and I out of contact with the flange D of the drum D, or into frictional contact with the same, so as to brake the'drum Whenever desired; or brakearms I and 1 with their attachments, may be applied to an independent wheel on drivingshaft O instead of upon flange of drum D. This brake mechanism is especially for use on steep downgrades, so that the vehicle can be run at any desired speed with or without the use of the motor B.

On the center rails G G forming the channel for the cable E, is held a pilot-wheel N, provided with a central part N, fitting between the heads of the said rails G and G, and provided with the reduced annular oifsets or flanges N and N traveling on the rails G and G respectively. The pilot-wheel N is mounted to turn in a suitable bracket 0, secured to a swinging draw-bar 0, held under the platform of the car A at each end of the car. The pilot-wheel N serves to steady the car and also prevents the cable E from being drawn out of the channel F before it passes onto the drum D.

Instead of using but one drum D, two or more drums may be employed, as illustrated in Fig. 3. line with each other, and the cable first passes around one drum, then over and around the other drum, or the cable may pass over the top of the two drums around crossing itself halfway between the two drums on lower side, and then pass in the opposite direction, from which it passes onto the first-named drum. The two drums are connected with each other by a pitman P, so that when the driving-shaft C of one drum is rotated the said pitman P imparts a rotary motion to the other drum, whereby both rotate in unison.

Instead of the pitman P, gear-wheels Q, Q, and Q may be employed for transmitting the rotary motion from one drum 1) to the other, as is shown in Fig. 4, or friction-wheels may be employed for purpose of connection, as in Fig. 3. Drums D D, one or more, may be tilted so as to avoid friction of the cable as they pass each other.

It Will be understood that the motor 13 employed may be an engine, electric motor, or other device, and can be connected by belt and pulleys with the main driving-shaftO or by gear-wheels or other suitable means, so as to rotate the said main driving-shaft 0.

As it is desirable that the engine or motive power shall not be stopped oftener than possible,[ place upon either the engine or counter-shaft or shaft 0 a friction-clutch of suitable device, so as to disconnect or connect the motor-power gradually or instantly, as may be desired, employing such friction-clutch found desirable for this purpose in the market. (Clutch not shown.)

The two drumsi) are placed in.

It will be seen that according to the direction in which the main shaft C is run the Vehicle A will travel.

It is further understood that the device can be applied on all level roads or on inclined grades even when very steep.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. In a cable railway, the combination, with a drum mounted to turn and a stationary cable wound on said drum, of a cable-channel and a pilot-wheel mounted in front of the drum and constructed to travel upon said channel, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a cable railway, the combination, with a drum or drums and a stationary cable wound on the said drum or drums, of rails laid close together to form a cable-channel, a swinging draw-bar, and a pilot-wheel carried by said draw-bar and having a central portionfitting between the rails and reduced end portions resting upon the rails, substantially as herein shown and described.

3. In a cable railway, two T-rails arranged alongside each other to form the cable-channel, substantially as shown and described.

4. In a cable railway, the cable-channel comprising two T-rails arranged alongside each other, and chairs on which the said rails are secured, substantially as shown and described.

' GEORGE W IET BOWMAN.

Witnesses:

W. E. PERKINS, JOHN D. WooDRUFF. 

